If anyone else in Kazakhstan reads this, could you do me a favour? Try and visit news.google.com and let me know if it works for you. I can’t currently access Google’s main news server. I first noticed a week or so ago that the server appeared to be down. However, as it is still unavailable, and the news.google.co.uk domain works fine, I’m beginning to wonder if there is either a technical issue, or perhaps some draconian blocking going on…
Jun 11 2007
Google Bad For You
or more specifically the privacy and security of your data.
Privacy International have rated Google as ‘hostile’ in their survey of web-based companies deal with data from their users.
PI stated that Google’s collation of huge amounts of data, its appalling record of responding to related complaints and that their privacy policies left a lot of unanswered questions.
Google have stated the report was mistaken and that it worked hard to blah blah blah. Sorry I lost focus there. They deny it, so Privacy International must be wrong about Google’s “numerous deficiencies and hostilities” to privacy. hmmmm.
Privacy International will be publishing a more detailed report in September, after further talks with the companies involved.
Jun 04 2007
Pussy Proprietor Protects Privacy
Following on from my earlier posting regarding people finding images that interested them via Google Maps, somebody is not happy with level of detail possible in Google’s eye level view of certain streets.
Check here for the original article. Whilst some argue that the scene was just as open and accessible to anyone on the street at the time the photo was taken, the idea that anyone anywhere (with a fast connection 😉 ) can view anywhere does have slightly scary connotations.
What do you think? Amazing new feature from google, or thin end of the wedge for some seriously Orwellian action?
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Jun 02 2007
WiFi Killed My Hamster…
The Guardian blog has an entry regarding the ongoing saga of the BBC Panorama’s report on the dangers of WiFi radio signals, especially in children, whose brains are still developing. They centred their investigations on schools, where WiFi is becoming more popular, bypassing the need to retro-fit CAT5/6 cables everywhere.
Anyway the businessman/scientist who was used as Panorama’s expert has rebutted claims by some that his methods were profit-based, and not fair comparisons with mobile phone masts for example. It was good to see the comments on this blog entry being well thought out responses.
May 30 2007
Urban Myth Or Scary Warning?
OK, I have to admit, I have read about this nightmare scenario before, but I had not realised that some Koreans take it very seriously…
What am I talking about? The silent killer – Death By Fan! Yes, some people do believe that if you sleep in a room, with shut windows and a door, and leave a desk fan on, you risk suffocating… In the same way that Kazakhs will warn you not sit on concrete (you’ll get piles) or drink a cold drink on a hot day (you’ll damage your throat? you’ll get a cold? can’t recall the dire warning exactly, apologies), this old wives tale still circulates in some society circles!
If you would like to know more, check out this site.
This post is NOT sponsored, I just found it interesting to compare and contrast different society’s strongly held beliefs.
May 29 2007
BBC Reports On Kazakhstan
A couple of friends in Britain sent me links to some interesting articles on the recent events in Kazakhstan, from the BBC. They are quite similar, and the articles are listed in date order, the earliest first. One friend commented that the 2nd last paragraph in the 3rd article was very interesting indeed.
1st (oldest article)
2nd
3rd (newest article)
Please do not comment on these articles at this blog, as media laws in this country can be difficult to interpret, and I do not wish to fall foul of the fine upstanding legal system that is strongly in place here.
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May 27 2007
Who Are You And What Are You Doing?
The BBC has reported that the UK government is looking at introducing new stop and quiz powers for the police. Although not as controversial as the stop and search issue, the idea that a innocent citizen can be stopped, asked for proof of identification, and exactly what they are doing does not fill me with joy.
True, these powers are being considered as an attempt to assist the ‘war on terror’, the very use of the phrase itself does not lend much credibility to the scheme, at least to some people. I still have some small sliver of hope left that the compulsory ID card scheme will be dropped – anyone who has seriously nefarious plans is not going to find difficulty in forging cards, no matter what the (government paid) experts declare…
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May 23 2007
Scally Choppers
It looks like someone went ahead and ran with an idea without actually figuring out just some of the consequences…
The idea is that Police can use the RC helicopter to scope out scenes without it being obvious they have any presence in the area.
However, ignoring the technical issues, the very fact that this is being trialled in Liverpool raises a couple of issues. Criminals in that area are known for their… resourcefulness, and will figure out, I’m sure, a way to disable these eyes in the sky.
Original article here, do check out the comments added to the story, some are quite well thought out. The others are just funny.
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May 16 2007
Scary Times For Kazakhstan
I thought I’d already linked to KZBlog’s article on the case of a business man who was abducted and beaten, allegedly by a well known figure in Kazakh politics, but I couldn’t find it a moment ago. Anyway, see here.
Then there is the current legal proceedings related to extraditing a man from Russia, to Kazakhstan, where questionable mistakes/errors of judgement appear to have been made. Not only do independently audited records allegedly display that no crime was committed, the charges he was extradited for appear to have been replaced with others, despite this breaking the due process, if reports are valid. Check here.
Now we have the case of a KTK (a Kazakh TV channel) employee who was kidnapped, beaten and held in a cell. His treatment was so shocking that he suffered a stroke. Click here for more info and a further link to a Russian language article on the incident.
On a slightly more light-hearted note, I’ve just come across a picture which look embarrassing enough, without any kind of background information…
Apparently his Supreme Stupidness G W Bush had almost inferred that Queen Elizabeth II was more than 200 years old, and so decided to recover his embarassment by giving a WINK to the Queen!
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May 11 2007
Eye’ve Got Eyes On Your Eyes
Following on from the earlier ultrasonic sound waves, here we have technology that is designed to count just how many people are looking at a certain object. Useful for gauging an advertisement’s effectiveness at grasping your attention, the product was discussed at a recent Google-hosted event. Check out the article here for more information. Link removed, article has expired apparently, sorry.
If this becomes mainstream, and improves the quality of billboard advertising (certainly variable in Kazakhstan), I’m all for it, however there is something a little creepy about the prospect of your advert viewing in real life being recorded as easily as online.
Both articles recently linked to were found via ThreadWatch.org, so big thanks to them.
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